1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image output device, and more particularly to an image output device which, when authentication media are read by an authentication device, executes jobs stored in a storage medium on the basis of a result of the authentication.
2. Description of the Related Art
Image forming devices (such as a multi function peripheral (MFP) provided with the scanner function, facsimile transmitting/receiving function, copying function, function as a printer, data communicating function, and server function, a facsimile machine, a copier, a printer, and the like) may be provided with an authentication printing function. The authentication printing function is a function with which, when an authentication card or the like is read by an authentication device, a print job stored in a storage medium is executed on the basis of the authentication result. According to the authentication printing function, only the user having the authentication card is allowed to execute the job, which guarantees a high level of security.
Document 1 below discloses an image forming device in which, after an authenticated job is printed, the print data stored in print data storing means is printed again when authentication information is input.
An image forming device provided with a function of combining a plurality of jobs and outputting the same as a set of printouts is also known.
Document 2 below discloses an image output device in which a plurality of electronic documents acquired from a web server or the like are combined so that they are output consecutively. The electronic documents to be combined are designated by a user. With this image output device, the electronic documents may be combined for printing, and the printed matters may be stapled for output.
[Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-076034
[Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-169838
In the case where a plurality of jobs are to be output collectively, as described in Document 2 above, when the authentication printing as described in Document 1 above is tried for the purposes of guaranteeing security, the following problems may occur.
For example, assume that jobs of two users are about to be output collectively. In order to combine the jobs, it is necessary to access the jobs. In the case where the image forming device allows authentication of only one person at a time, as described in Document 1 above, troublesome procedure is required for combining the jobs. That is, a first user passes a data file of the first user's job to a second user. The second user in turn performs authentication and stores the received data file as the second user's own job. This allows the second user to access the jobs of both users. The second user then issues an instruction to combine the jobs.
In the above-described case, the first user is required to pass the own data file to the second user, and the second user is required to select the jobs to be combined and instruct the output thereof. These operations are complicated and troublesome.
These problems are not limited to the image forming devices like an MFP; they are common to image output devices in general, including a scanner, which have the function of outputting images.